Written by: Brett Ari Fischer - The New York City Broker

If you want to buy a home in the city, it’s natural to ask, “What is the most desirable neighborhood in New York?” But the answer is not as straightforward as you might think. Desirability can be highly subjective, and what’s most desirable to some may not be as desirable to others. There are also no formal rankings for neighborhoods in NYC that we can leverage to identify the most desirable neighborhood. We looked into several lists, and Greenwich Village (in Manhattan) was either at the top or in the top five of most of them. 

Whether you are a New Yorker already renting and planning to buy a home or someone moving into the city, it might benefit you to understand the housing market trends. There are a lot of things you should know about, starting with a crucial question – will 2025 be a better time to buy a house? An overarching answer to this question is that it would be better in some ways and worse in others.

What does it take to buy an apartment in NYC? The simplest answer is enough money and a good New York City broker. However, a decision as important as buying an apartment in NYC is rarely as simple.

From New York City brokers to other stakeholders in the real estate industry, many professionals are frequently asked one question – What’s your best advice for first-time homebuyers?

The 20% down payment is the national average and the norm for most first-time buyers in New York. It’s the standard down payment for private mortgages. So, regardless of what you are buying in the city (a condo, co-op, brownstone, etc.), if you do that with a mortgage, you may need to put about 20% down. 

The buying process can be brutal. The co-op board holds enormous power and can reject you for any reason other than discrimination. Typically, you would need to have healthy finances, complete a comprehensive board package, and pass the board interview to get accepted. Even if you can get a mortgage (meaning your financial situation is good enough for the bank), the co-op might still reject you if they think you are not financially consistent or viable enough. The process can be longer and require more time and effort than other properties. 

Do you have to put 20% down in NYC? Or can you buy a property with a lower down payment? This is a question most first-time home buyers have in NYC. In most cases, you do need 20% down in NYC, but there are exceptions. 

A credit score is a number assigned to an individual by a credit bureau based on how they handle credit and payment. People who are careful with their money and financial obligations like bills and loans and promptly pay them back have a high credit score. People who don’t have a low credit score. It’s sometimes called a FICO score, but it depends on the credit union. The score typically ranges between 300 and 850. 

Yes. NYC co-ops tend to be cheaper than and more affordable than condos on average. According to the Q3 reports, the average sale price of condos was 67% higher than co-ops in Brooklyn and 51% higher in Manhattan. But why are co-ops so much cheaper than condos?